“Mobile cows are being monitored using mobile phones.” British farmers need to carefully record their cattle movements because of the “mad cow” epidemic. Braidgrove uses cutting edge technology to free farmers from the hassles of recording information about their livestock, and they have added WAP so that mobile phones can access their system.

I didn’t feel a particular need to revisit the bitter past, but the Mercury News feature on the demise of Interval, from which my former employer Purple Moon spun out, was enlightening. There was further information on the last minute deals that our CEO tried to get in place, and also her insistence that our creditors be paid through Chapter 11 bankruptcy instead of ditched in a Chapter 7 liquidation. It was a nice feeling to find that regardless of what we went through there, she always tried to do the right thing up to the sad end.

There must be a rule that every new snack and candy bar introduction must be accompanied by silly factoids. Or perhaps the accompanying website content developers and press release writers are just sapped dry for interesting ways to pitch sugar and partially hydrogenated fats at us. At any rate, Nabisco doesn’t want you to miss these fascinating Mini-Oreo facts: “There will be enough Mini Oreo cookies produced during the next year to cover a two-lane highway from New York to Los Angeles. If every Mini Oreo cookie made in the next year were placed side-by-side they would encircle the world 36 times.” Here’s one about regular-sized Oreos: “Research also shows that 84 percent of men prefer to eat their Oreo cookies intact, while 41 percent of women like to pull them apart.” Hmmmm. (Health note: McDonald’s old method of frying in beef tallow may actually be healthier than their use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. I hope trans-fat labeling happens.)

WebExhibits is a collection of “high quality exhibits on the Internet.” Sites are organized into various topics and given star ratings. There is also a handy search feature. I could log items from this for weeks! But no, instead I will let you browse on your own. I found the History and Meaning of Hatwear in Canada, Endangered Species of the Next Millenium, and the Bad Fads Museum. Oddly, unicycles are listed as a bad fad. But it doesn’t sound bad: “the unicycle has recently been found to [have] beneficial qualities including a reduction of stress and an increase in mental capabilities.” I think the people I know who ride unicycles already have quite enough mental capabilities, thank you.

I’d been wondering about the effects of no TV on the residents of Moscow, and a Boston Globe article satisfied my curiousity. Cable operators, ISPs, video stores, and hourly hotels are enjoying a surge in business. People are realizing that the car needs work, the dog can use a longer walk, the garden needs weeding, but they are also missing their news and soaps. There is a Simpsons episode where, for some reason I can’t remember, television (or perhaps just Krusty the Clown) goes away and all the children exit their homes, zombie-like, eyes blinking at the bright shiny globe in the sky. Gradually, they spread out into various outdoor endeavors: skipping rope, playing in the sandbox. Idyllic classical music plays in the background. (via randomWalks)

I didn’t see The Who this summer because I couldn’t justify paying the outrageous ticket prices. But Pete Townshend posted diary entries regularly on his site from various tour locations, along with some decent MP3s of live performances.

Always on, big bandwidth has changed my behavior. I don’t think as much before I click on a link. Recommended software upgrades can be brought down in a jiffy. Sites with Flash and large images bother me only on an intellectual level. I don’t have to sit down to an Internet “session”; I can just pop on and off whenever I feel like it to get what I need. I’m not sure yet if that means I’m cumulatively on the ‘net more or less. I suppose I’m saving some time downloading things, but there are many things I’m downloading which I wouldn’t have before. I also have my place wired for access from any room now, which includes guest ports. Except for the kitchen and bathrooms, though I suppose if one were desperate enough, one could easily drag a wire over, which, one just isn’t — yet.

Some of you are making your way back to GirlHacker again (thanks for returning!). The machine hosting this site went kaput (hard disk failure is the initial diagnosis from afar; you see, Murphy’s Law took effect and it blew up when its caretaker was far away on holiday so we’re not really sure what happened yet). A mad scramble ensued and most everything got quickly moved to another machine located elsewhere, but the new IP address and name server are taking their own sweet time to update throughout the vast Internet. So, some of you will see this sooner than others.

But the exciting news is that while I was suffering lack of weblog, I finally got cable modem access! I’ve only been waiting about four years since beta customers on my very block were serviced. The technician says everyone is telling him that. I am so psyched that I feel I am merely dreaming and will soon awake and find myself staring into a kermit terminal with a phone coupler. I am getting speeds averaging 2.5Mbps. I’ve been saying “wheeeeeeeee!” a lot. Anyway, thanks for your patience with the technical difficulties and I’ll be back to regular programming soon.

Berkeley Breathed has a new children’s book out, Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big. Since ceasing production of his Bloom County and Outland strips, Breathed has been creating amusing tales in the children’s picture book format. This latest one lists a web site, but it is under construction. He also gives a big thanks to President Bill Clinton for daily inspiration. Look at the title of the book and you’ll figure out why. I always miss having the Bloom County perspective on current events. But I suppose a reunion TV movie is out of the question. It’s almost too easy to make fun of politicians these days. Pulling out subtle, yet hearty, humor from big targets is something Bloom County excelled at. My favorite quote from Berke Breathed: “what seems funny to a sleep-deprived brain at 4:00 A.M. often reads as merely hallucinogenic when laid down on the sober newsprint of a newspaper comic page. This may explain my initial popularity on college campuses around the country.”

The U.S. Mint is still trying to get that new dollar coin into circulation. According to a Washington Post article, “the average American is holding onto six golden dollars as souvenirs”. Hmph! I’ve only ever seen one to hoard and someone else obtained it for me. I don’t know anyone with more than one, so there must be people hanging onto rolls and rolls! The director of the Coin Coalition claims banks were “livid” that the mint initially passed them over to help in promoting the dollar coins. Instead, Wal-mart purchased 100 million coins to hand out as promotional change. But the American Bankers Association blames retailers for not requesting the coins, since banks will only order as many as they are getting asked for. Now Allfirst, a Baltimore-based bank, has dollar coins available for customers who want it when cashing checks and to give as freebies to those opening checking account. But I’m not sure this will help push it into circulation; people will still hoard those few coins. If the Mint keeps treating the coins like a promotional item, the public will keep treating them like a collector’s item. Their usefulness needs to be promoted. If they are indeed going to benefit someone, then those who benefit need to get on the bandwagon.